The Seoul of Koreatown

With the approval of a more liberal immigration policy by the Canadian government in 1967 many Koreans settled in the Bloor and Bathurst area and a small Korean business neighbourhood emerged along.

Torontonians of Korean origin actively matched with Korean politics, and organized conferences. In the 1970s, newspapers were established, cultural events were formed and the growing Korean population in Toronto became visible.

Settlement services, restaurants and churches steadily developed as a bundle of Korean businesses from Spadina Avenue to Christie Street.

The area had already had a olden days of diversity, with migrants from the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America calling it home.

For the Korean society, this neighbourhood’s close proximity to the University of Toronto, where some of the first Koreans in the city had attended school, made it a natural choice as the “Koreatown” of Toronto.